Not applicable
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates in general to ear muffs, specifically to ear muffs that are to be used in conjunction with headphones for portable radios, cassette players and other media players of the like.
2. Description of Prior Art
The Earmuff originally was designed to protect the ears from cold weather. The Earmuffs consisted of two insulated cushions or muffs usually round or oval typically attached together with a flexible curved center section or band. The band extends over the head of the wearer and has at each end, the padded earmuff piece that is permanently affixed to be in register with the ear of the wearer.
For purposes of definition, the standard earmuff commonly available on the market today, will be defined to include the above description as well as the following features. The typical earmuff consists of two pads or muffs commonly filled with insulating padding and covered with an insulating material such as cloth, furxe2x80x94synthetic or otherwise. The typical earmuff design is oversized in relationship to the ear in order to over both the ear and part of the head around the ear to ensure a comfortable and well-insulated fit.
In addition, devices also known as earmuffs have been used to provide acoustic protection to the ear of a wearer against excessive noise such as the sound of a firearm which is discharged or the sound of a jet engine. Devices known as headsets, earphones or headphones have been used to provide a means for positioning a speaker adjacent to the ear of the user while excluding background noise in order to facilitate the reception of sound. The headphone devices have typically been made with a flexible curved center section or band, which extends over the head positioning a speaker adjacent to the ear of the user while excluding background noise in order to facilitate the reception of sound.
Portable radios and cassette players with small portable speakers are very popular. The speakers that accompany these portable players are usually small and lightweight and are designed to fit on the ear comfortably with their circumference well within the area of the ear. Due to their size and construction the speakers do not lend themselves to protecting the ear against cold weather. Larger headphones do exist that completely cover the ear, but do not have the design elements necessary for proper insulation in cold weather and they are considerably larger, heavier and more expensive to be practically adapted for outdoor use.
The construction of the headphone is very similar to the earmuff. It consists of two speakers that are connected by a curved center section, typically referred to as a band, which extends over the head of the wearer much like the ear muff, and is designed to hold the speakers adjacent to each ear the same way ear muffs are held over the ears by a band.
The two devices cannot be used together for the following reasons. Earmuffs do not have the space required to accommodate headphone speakers so that the headphone speakers could be placed adjacent to the ear while the earmuffs are also occupying the same adjacent space next to the ear. Earmuffs and headphones make use of a band to position their respective end pieces, either muff or speaker adjacent to the wearers ear. Using both in unison becomes difficult due to the multiplicity of bands and earpieces. The fitting of one set of ear pieces adjacent to the ear naturally prevents the placement of the other to the same.
Several types of headphone earmuffs have been proposed in the past to accomplish the task of insulating the ear while wearing headphones, but with inherent disadvantages.
Due to the popularity of headphones and portable listening devices such as radios, cassette, compact disc, and media devices of the like, many styles of headphones have become available and are currently in use. Each style of headphone boasts a unique design as well as materials. The variances between models range in the areas of speaker size and shape, as well as the different band consistencies and their connection methods to the speakers they support. Prior art does not allow for the use of the headphone earmuff with the wide variety of headphones already available on the market.
The connection method which secures the earmuff to the headphone speaker unit in U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,215 depends on the band of the headphone unit to be of a specific dimension as well as in one predefined relationship to the headphone speaker which must be of a specific size and circumference in order to connect the earmuff to the headphone speaker. Any variation in speaker size, bandwidth or girth or angle of connection between the band and earphone speaker will render the design in U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,215 unusable. Additionally, the design in U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,215 limits the size of the earmuff because it is constructed with a spring loop that defines the circumference of the earmuff. The earmuff has inter-linking ends that comprise the connecting mechanism of the muff, which must stay in close relationship with the connecting point of the band and the speaker in order to prove effective. If the ring is made larger to accommodate an oversized ear muff consistent with the standard earmuff designs in the market today, the ring must still connect with the headphone at the same juncture where band and speaker meet making the enlarged earmuff hang well below the ear and not equally around it as an efficient use of an earmuff dictates.
Further by having a limited size and shape dictated by the patent""s design, the aesthetic features commonly associated with the popularized earmuffs found in the market wherein a soft plush round or oval insulated pad being oversized to the ear touching the surrounding area of the head is featured, is compromised in order to achieve this patent""s perceived function. In conclusion, the design above in U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,215 limits its uses with the various styles of headphones on the market having only the capability to work in conjunction with a few that meet its limited physical dimension criteria.
In prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,898 the earmuff designed to be used in conjunction with headphones features two rounded flaps the intended to be secured flatly together sandwiching the earphone in between them. The flaps are fastened together by matching hook and loop fasteners or the like. It is thus required to match the opposing flaps in exact symmetry to each other while sandwiching the speaker at the same time in order to properly place the headphone speaker within the earmuff. It is apparent by this designs functionality that it requires complex manipulation of the matching pieces to properly align and therefore use this item. In addition, once the flaps are properly in place, small adjustments necessary to keep the earmuff in proper alignment with the headphone speakers proves difficult due to the fact that the two flaps completely encase the headphone speaker and there for allow for little movement with out the need to completely separate and reattach the flaps together in new alignment.
The design in U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,898 lacks the internal structure that would otherwise prevent the earphone from twisting inside the pocket created by the two-sandwiched flaps. Proper positioning of the earphone inside the sandwich pocket is possible, but due to the lack of structure and support proves difficult to maintain. The standard earmuff typically features oversized earmuff pads which surround the ear and lie in contact with the area of the head around the ear in order to completely cover and insulate the wearers ear and ear region of the head. U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,898""s use of flaps as described above make use of a thin cupped shape covered by material that engages the ear in order to provide insulation. The cup is not shown to contact the head and thus does not envelope the ear nor is there mention that the design features insulation of any kind outside of the aforementioned cloth material. This lack of insulation and respective area coverage around the ear proves inadequate as a proper insulating device in extreme cold weather.
Both patents mentioned above go about solving the problem of encasing the headphones within the earmuff by means of forming a pocket with which the headphone speaker is to occupy. It is by the creation of this pocket, either by the matching of cloth flaps in U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,898 or a cloth pocket framed by a spring loop, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,215, that both designs fail to provide adequate insulation necessary to protect the ear and surround area of the head. By having a pocket as the center of the earmuff to accommodate the speaker the space is no longer available for insulation. And due to size restrictions inherent in each design, there is little space and or surface area available to adequately be used for insulating the ear. Both designs depend on cloth such as wool with insulating properties to do the job of keeping the ears of the wearer warm. In extreme cold conditions the designs will not match the insulating efficiency of a fully padded earmuff.
In other items of prior art, earmuffs and headphones are featured together as one invention. The earmuffs are designed to attach exclusively to its headphone counterpart. The earmuff can not be used with other headsets on the market due to this design. This design does not fall within the range of inventions of earmuffs designed to fit headphones, but an invention incorporating both headphone and earmuff together. Therefore, this type of prior art does not provide an earmuff designed to be used with the variety of headphones on the market as my invention does.
In conclusion, prior art earmuffs built to accommodate headphone speakers have not solved the problem of incorporating the headphone speaker inside the earmuff without sacrificing insulation and or allowing the muff to be any size or shape. In addition, the designs of prior art have failed to make an ear muff capable of being used with the many styles and shapes of portable headphones on the market. In addition, prior art incorporates designs that either inconvenience the user with their complexity having such things as flaps to align and maintain as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,898 or spring loops to snap over one style of headphone as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,215. These designs are inconvenient to users that choose different headphone styles.
Further, the prior art discussed cannot be made into shapes such as triangles or squares or enlarged circles due to their design limitations. Typical earmuffs cover more than just the ear in order to be effective. The typical earmuff design is intended to be oversized in relationship to the ear in order to cover both the ear and part of the head around the ear to ensure a comfortable and well-insulated fit. The typical earmuff is commonly filled with insulation and covered with an insulating material. The prior art discussed above is limited both in design as well as use of materials for accomplishing the same usefulness as the standard earmuff described here. By showing how prior art compares with the functionality of a typical earmuff and noting disadvantages concerning their respective designs, it will become obvious how my headphone earmuff design encompasses and solves many of the issues presented.
The headphone earmuff is designed to allow for listening to music through portable headphones while having the ears protected from cold weather by an earmuff that surrounds the headphones and is in register with the ears and surrounding region of the head.
The headphone earmuff is band less, unlike conventional earmuffs, but otherwise is constructed of like materials possessing insulating qualities and materials that accomplish the same.
The headphone earmuff uses the stereo headphones connecting band to position and hold in place said earmuffs adjacent to the wearers ears while using the headphone speakers as a positioning anchor to maintain proper alignment.
The headphone earmuff in my invention is designed specifically to be used with a wide variety of portable headphone designs already available and widely used on the market.
The headphone earmuff does not require a specially designed attachment system between the earmuff and headphone to combine the two.
The headphone earmuff in my patent can be oversized to accommodate both the ear and the surrounding head area similar to standard earmuff designs.
The design of my earmuff for portable headphones allows for an abundance of insulation and insulating materials.
My design features a simple closing mechanism of facing hook and loop fasteners to secure the earmuff around virtually any style of headphone speaker and its band without sacrificing the ability to make adjustments while wearing the earmuff on the headphones.
My design accomplished the purpose of an attachable earmuff for the use with portable headphones without complex connecting mechanisms or structural design elements that require precise manipulation.
My design can be used with virtually any design of portable headphone on the market
The earmuffs in my patent can be closely patterned after the standard ear muff in order to accomplish design, utility, and aesthetic advantages in regards to like materials, like insulating properties and similar look feel and product identity that users of the standard earmuff are already used to.
The headphone earmuff may also be patterned in a variety of shapes and materials to suit different uses for all types of environments including but not limited to rain, snow, cold, and the like as well as constructed out of alternative materials to suit users preferences as well as purposes which are defined by environment and or have not been identified yet.
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the headphone earmuff are:
(a) Allowing for the listening of music through portable headphones in cold weather while protecting the ears and bead area around the ears from the cold.
(b) Protecting the earphones themselves from weather elements such as cold, and moisture.
(c) Uses the portable headphones as a supporting structure using the connecting band of the headphone to position and stabilize the headphone earmuff over the wearer""s ears while using the speakers to affix to.
(d) Allowing for adjustments while in use for optimum comfort and fit.
(e) Simple to operate and machine washable.
(f) Can be created in any size shape or pattern for aesthetic, practical, and utilitarian considerations.
(g) Earmuffs are not required to have a connecting strap to hold them in place over the ears.
(h) The headphone earmuffs are more compact than normal earmuffs due to the lack of connecting band.
(i) It is possible to mix and match with other sets of headphone earmuffs due to the individual muffs being separate and being individually attachable to each speaker headphone.
(j) Can be used with a wide variety of portable headphone designs available on the market.
(k) Aesthetically similar to earmuffs already on the market.
(l) Does not require special connections or intricate manipulations for use
(m) The headphone earmuffs can be made from any cloth material and the like.
(n) Provides more than adequate insulation for extreme weather conditions.
(o) The headphone earmuff has a semi-rigid internal structure that serves as a resilient shape for the earmuff that protects the ears as well as the headphones of the user from environmental abuses.
(p) The structure that comprises the form of the earmuff provides for a secure fit and placement for the speaker inside the earmuff in order to dramatically reduce random repositioning of said speaker during use.
Further objects and advantages of the headphone earmuff will become apparent from a consideration of drawings and ensuing description.